In news- The first National Heart Failure Biobank (NHFB) in the country was inaugurated at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
About National Heart Failure Biobank (NHFB)-
- NHFB will collect blood, biopsies, and clinical data as a guide to future therapies.
- Under NHFB, the storage facilities include-20, -80-degree mechanical freezers and a liquid nitrogen storage system which can store bio-samples at – 140 degrees perpetually for years.
- The biosamples that can be collected include the blood, serum, tissue samples obtained during open-heart surgery and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and genomic DNA collected from heart failure patients.
- The biobank activity is supervised by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) with a member from ICMR.
- The samples are collected after informed consent from patients who are willing to donate specimens.
- The samples stored and catalogued will be linked to clinical data such as physiological measures, imaging data like ECG, Echocardiography MRI, and follow-up data.
- This biobank will provide insights into heart diseases and heart failure among Indian children and adults, which are very different from that seen in the West.
- NHFB would prove very helpful in understanding molecular pathways and would improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of Heart Failure.
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST)
- It was originally established by the Government of Kerala as an advanced centre for medical specialties.
- The origin of the Institute dates back to 1973 when the Royal Family of Travancore gifted a multistoried building for the people and Government of Kerala.
SCTIMST metamorphosed into an Institution of National Importance with the status of a University in 1980 under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
Source: PIB
